LA Councilman Curren Price Faces Corruption Charges

Yet another real estate corruption scandal is about to rock Los Angeles City Hall.

On Tuesday, the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office announced it had filed multiple charges against City Councilman Curren Price for embezzlement of government funds, perjury and conflict of interest.

At least some of the charges stem from a pay-to-play development scheme that benefited the South L.A. politician. Between 2019 and 2021, Price’s wife allegedly received more than $150,000 from developers before Price voted to approve their projects, according to a description of the criminal complaint provided by the D.A.’s office.

“Today’s charges against Councilman Curren Price are the result of a thorough investigation into allegations of public corruption,” D.A. George Gascón said in a release. “This alleged conduct undermines the integrity of our government and erodes the public’s trust in our elected officials.”

Price was charged for failing to disclose the money his wife was paid, and also with wrongfully receiving about $34,000 in medical coverage.

The new charges against Price, a longtime politician who assumed his current office in 2013, come less than a year after the City Council was engulfed by a racist audio scandal that led to the resignation of former council president Nury Martinez and reset the tenor of the political body.

Beginning in late 2018, a sweeping FBI probe into L.A. development corruption resulted in one of the largest political scandals in the city’s history. Former council members Mitch Englander and Jose Huizer pleaded guilty to accepting millions in bribes. Englander began serving a prison sentence last year, while Huizar’s sentencing date was recently delayed. Both investigations involved real estate developers.

Price was mentioned in the same probe but never faced federal charges.

“Curren Price is a longstanding public servant who has given his life to the City of Los Angeles,” a spokesperson told the L.A. Times following the news of the latest allegations. “He looks forward to defending himself once he has had an opportunity to address these charges.”